ConDev Hosts Visiting Scholars from North Korea

This week, The Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M (ConDev) hosted visitors from Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea. The university itself is an anomaly: With a growing curriculum and the best internet access in the country, it is an experiment in what can be achieved academically with slightly loosened restrictions.

James Chin-Kyung Kim, president of Pyongyang University of Science & Technology, leads a delegation from the only private university in North Korea, as it seeks academic cooperation with Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, January 30, 2017. Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jon Herskovitz

During the visit, Texas A&M administrators suggested the possibility of assisting with the school’s curriculum development, innovative learning tools and other classroom materials in line with international sanctions. ConDev, in particular, is interested to work with the school’s Agriculture program to improve food security in-country:

“For us, it is as much a scholarly engagement as an altruistic engagement,” said Edward Price, director of the school’s Center on Conflict and Development in the Department of Agricultural Economics. “We are driven by the notion that food security is fundamental to peace,” Price said. – Reuters

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The Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University seeks to improve the effectiveness of development programs and policies for conflict-affected and fragile countries through multidisciplinary research and education.

The Center uses science and technology to reduce armed conflict, sustain families and communities during conflict, and assist states to rapidly recover from conflict.